Page 44 of Peyton's Price

His brother rubbed the rim of his glass, but he only succeeded in making a terrible squeaking sound. “She’s gone.”

“Shit!” Liam bolted upright, grabbing his coat. “Where the hell did you take her? The airport?”

Was she returning to California? Had she not taken Priya’s advice to heart? It was too soon for her to reconnect with her old life.

“You can forget that. Where she’s gone, you can’t follow. Matthias will make sure of that.”

Liam froze, then scowled. “Wait, are telling me Matthias is behind this? Did she ask him to set her up somewhere else?”

Fuck.He should have known. Peyton was too independent for her own good. She hated depending on anyone. After getting kidnapped, she was going be forced to start over, but the hardheaded woman was determined to do it all on her own.

“No, jackass. She leftwithhim.”

Liam blinked rapidly, a narrow but endless pit opening in his stomach. He couldn’t say anything, but his brother didn’t require an answer.

“Peyton has sailed off into the sunset in search of a happily ever after—literally,” Trick said.

“With Matthias?”

Trick gave him an incredulous look. “What did you think was going to happen when you called in a young and conveniently single Nordic billionaire to come to her rescue?”

Liam stared at his brother, but it was as if his voice were coming from a long distance away. “Not Matthias. That just isn’t possible.”

Trick threw up his hands. “Un-fucking-believable.”

Liam shook his head again, even though it was making him dizzy. “Peyton can’t leave.”

Disgusted, his brother sighed and stalked to the door, throwing it open.

“Liam, stop being so fucking dense. She’s been in love with you her whole life, and you’re getting married to someone else. All these efforts to hold onto her are only hurting her. Cut her loose. She deserves a chance to be happy, too.”

The door closed behind Trick a moment later. Liam pushed away from his desk, then grabbed his coat. He didn’t know where the hell he was going, but he couldn’t stay here.

Chapter 21

Peyton stretched out in the sun under the white sheet, glorying in the luxury of a professional massage under the Caribbean sun.

Hmm, this is the life.It was mid-November and she was basking outside, surrounded by crystal-blue water while being rubbed down until she was almost boneless.

“Please turn,” the masseuse said in an accented voice Peyton couldn’t pin down.

Approximately half Matthias’ staff hailed from Scandinavian countries, mostly his home Norway. But the other half was a mixed bag. Priya was born in Bangladesh, while Polina and Demetre were from Estonia and Georgia, respectively. She thought Ha-eun, the boat’s masseuse, mentioned she was Korean, but once the massage started, she stopped talking, only responding to questions with low hums of acknowledgment.

She would ask Priya later, Peyton decided as she flipped over on the table. Ha-eun adjusted the sheet over her naked body, taking care to preserve her modesty in case another staff member interrupted—not that they would dare. When Matthias welcomed her aboard, he made a ship-wide announcement she would be his guest indefinitely.

At first, Peyton had been nervous, concerned the staff would continue to act the way they had during her first voyage. But this time around, they seemed far more relaxed, as if they had realized her return was a sign that the underground—overwater?—railroad wasn’t restarting.

Oiled-up and deliciously relaxed, Peyton let her mind drift as her body was kneaded and pulled like taffy by Ha-eun’s skilled and strong hands.

Speaking of which.Peyton’s lashes fluttered open, startled as those hands moved under the sheet, grazing the tops of her nipples. She almost giggled aloud, but then it happened again.

Blushing, Peyton held her breath, but the contact didn’t happen a third time. The massage ended soon after. Gathering the sheet close around her, she thanked Ha-eun in a rush, nodding and ducking into Matthias’ stateroom just as he walked in.

He looked good enough to eat. His suit was linen in deference to the warm weather, but it was neatly pressed and fresh-looking as if he’d just stepped out of the pages of a high-end magazine, summer edition.

Still red in the face, Peyton turned to peek out onto the deck, making sure Ha-eun had departed before hurrying to him.

“You’re not going to believe this.” She laughed, her tingling breasts growing heavier at the sight of him. “I just got felt up.”

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